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Nigeria successfully defended their FIBA Women’s AfroBasket crown after they won their second straight title against hosts Senegal with a 60-55 scoreline in a tightly contested final. The game took place on Sunday night at the magnificent 15,000-seater Dakar Arena. D’Tigress showed their dominance on the continent by registering a perfect five-game unbeaten run at the biennial competition, along with commendable performances all through the tournament, en route the final. They have now gone on to win the FIBA Women’s…

By: Omoya Simult (Caveat: Please engage your sense of humour in reading this article. Sentences may have deeper meanings than what can be readily gleaned on the surface. Or maybe not.) “If you no get money, hide your face,” sang Davido, a billionaire’s son and top musician. In Nigeria, you cannot be addressed as a respectable human being unless you have money. Of course, when we say somebody has money, everyone understands we are talking in millions of naira. If…

Anti-graft operatives on Tuesday morning entered the residence of former Lagos Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, raiding the building as part of an ongoing corruption investigation. This was confirmed from EFCC spokesperson, Tony Orilade, that Ambode is under a corruption probe, a few months after he left office. Ambode’s residence in his hometown of Epe was being searched around 9.35am. The residence of the former governor’s chief of staff in the same Epe neighbourhood was also searched. Billions of naira were allegedly misappropriated…

CBN gives banks three months to withdraw mutilated notes The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has opened a three-month window which ends on September 2, for customers across the country to replace their mutilated naira notes with new ones across all banks. The order is as a result of its resolve to finally replace mutilated, old naira notes in Nigeria, after the failure of banks to heed previous directives. Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Isaac Okoroafor, disclosed this over the weekend…

L Adrian saved from Tammy Abraham as Liverpool beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties to win the first all-English UEFA Super Cup following a 2-2 draw in Istanbul. Olivier Giroud gave Frank Lampard’s side a deserved first-half lead on Wednesday, but the introduction of Roberto Firmino as a half-time substitute changed the game for the Reds. Firmino quickly set up Sadio Mane for the equaliser and, in the first period of extra time, the Senegal star smashed home from his team-mate’s…

A 20-year old footballer who once had trials with Manchester United has taken his own life after persistent injury problems halted his progression. Joel Darlington, described as an “exceptional talent”, played for Wales at youth level and trialed with Shrewsbury Town before turning out for Welsh Premier League outfit Bala Town, where he was the academy side’s top scorer in 2016/17. His United trials ended when he suffered a broken arm, while in 2017 a more pressing issue saw scar…

Fortuna Dusseldorf’s Maduka Okoye and Glasgow Rangers’ Joe Aribo are part of Nigeria’s 23-man squad for a friendly against Ukraine on September 10. The Super Eagles face Andriy Shevchenko’s men on September 10 as part of their preparations for November’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin Republic. Below is the list of players selected: Kelechi Iheanacho, Semi Ajayi and Tyronne Ebuehi make a return to the team after missing the 2019 Afcon. However, there was no place for…

A Barcelona side without talisman, Lionel Messi, fell to a 1-0 defeat on the opening fixture of La Liga on Friday night. After long periods of unproductive pressure, an ageless Aduriz turned back the hands of the clock when he came off the bench to steal the show with a wonderful acrobatic effort from inside the penalty area which left Ter Stegen hapless. In the 89th minute, a ball from the right picked out Aduriz who was unmarked in the…

Siasia banned from football Former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia has been banned for life by Fifa for agreeing to “receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches.” Siasia was coach of Nigeria between 2010-2011 and for a spell in 2016 but the time period when Fifa believes he committed his infractions is unclear. He has also served as coach of the country’s Under-20 and Under-23 sides. “The Ethics Committee has found Mr Siasia, a former official of the Nigeria…